Time to right an '80s Oscar wrong: JeVetta Steele's 'Calling You'

When listing the injustices of the Academy Awards of 1987, Roger Ebert singled out the loss of JeVetta Steele's Calling You to Carly Simon's Let The River Run for Best Original Song as perhaps the most egregious oversight of the awards show.

Calling You is the haunting theme for the highly-rated Bagdad Café, a quirky little film the chronicles a German tourist woman who is stranded in a desolate California town and her acceptance into the small community. The charming comedy has a 7.5 rating by IMDB.

The video is a fan compilation of movie scenes and most importantly features the soaring vocals of JeVetta Steele. While Steele's version of Calling You did not chart, the song has been covered many times over by artists such as Paul Young, George Michael, Celine Dion, George Benson, Patti Austin and Jeff Buckley. Steele has performed in musicals, gospel groups and has toured as a backup singer with artists such as Prince and 10,000 Maniacs.

With the cult success of the film, the Newberry Springs, CA, café that was featured in the film was renamed from The Sidewinder Café to The Bagdad Café and remains a tourist destination for obscure movie lovers.

About this blog

Relive the '80s music, movies and culture with Tampa Bay Times correspondent Steve Spears. A teen during the greatest decade ever, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to big hair.